The Face of Fear
by FoxyShaz
Summary: When young teen, Kymber, receives an antique recorder box as a gift, she has no idea of the terrible nightmares it holds, or of the sinister entity, and the havoc it will unleash on her life.


In the beginning, the little antique recorder box seemed like a perfect gift to receive. It went well with the rest of Kymber's collection of oddities. She was even proud to place it next to her favorite wet specimens of bats, and cat skeletons.

But that night, after Kymber thanked her grandmother for the wonderful present and finally laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes, she heard static coming from the shelf across the room.

As soon as she lifted her head, the noise stopped.

Kymber laid back down.

The static returned, but this time it was louder and accompanied by warbling noises. She slowly raised her head, her heart picking up pace.

There, across her room on the shelf, sat the recorder box with its clasps undone and a spritely, yellow light spilling from it's lid.

Kymber sighed and calmed, then threw off the covers and crossed her room in the dark.

"It's not a demon," she whispered to herself, and opened the lid completely.

The yellow glow was coming from the lit 'Play' button, which was almost enchanting when it was surrounded by darkness. The only problem was that the recorder had not worked earlier when she and her grandmother tried to turn it on.

She sighed, and searched for the 'Off' position on the power dial, but the recorder was already off.

Kymber's heart picked up it's pace again as she stared into the yellow light.

She was excited at the thought of a demon possessing one of her items, but at the same time she was terrified of the idea.

Kymber knew that they always went for the weakest, most vulnerable of souls, and she had never decided what kind of a soul she had.

Amongst the static and warbling, strange scratching noises came from the speaker.

Demons. Demons trying to escape, she thought.

Or maybe, just a trapped spirit wanting to be freed into the afterlife.

Kymber was racking her logic for a reason to press the 'Play' button. She wanted to do it. Just to see what would happen. But another part of Kymber told her to put the box in her closet, cover it with clothes to muffle the static, and investigate during the day.

Yes, that's what should be done.

Kymber pressed 'Play' and felt the tingle of excitement as the button sank beneath her thumb and clicked. The static and warbling stopped, and then a strange dialogue came from the speaker.

"I'm afraid of fear, of fear itself," said a little girl's voice. "I'm afraid of you!" she yelled. This was followed by what sounded like a tornado, and a man screaming, as if he were getting sucked away in the storm.

Kymber didn't understand what she had just listened to. She tried to rewind the recording and play it back, but when she hit 'Play' again, she heard nothing.

She was confused, and no longer in the mood to play games with demons in the darkness.

Or whatever it was.

Kymber closed and made sure both of the clasps were secure before returning to the comfort of her mattress.

She made sure her feet were completely covered, and then she ducked her head under the comforter, just to be safe.

At sixteen, she felt a little silly for the way she was behaving, but to quell her anxiety, she justified it by assuring herself that she was the only one in the room.

Then, from beneath the comforter, Kymber saw a red light spill over the room. She didn't dare peek.

She tried desperately to control her breathing, but her pulse kicked into high gear and wouldn't let her.

Kymber tried to convince herself that she was just imagining the red glow because she failed to take her medication at precisely five-o-clock in the afternoon that day.

Yes, that had to be it.

A large shadow began to grow amidst the red glow. Kymber regretted ever going over to investigate the box, or at least not stowing it away in the closet.

She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her mouth, as she whispered "Never take your pills late again, never take your pills late again," over and over to herself in quivering breaths.

Kymber never thought that such a simple act would trigger such a terrifying hallucination.

Before she could process what happened, the sheets were ripped away from her, and Kymber was bathed in red. A tall dark figure with a strangely shaped head stood before her, clutching her blankets, an eerie mist swirling in the ominous red surrounding it.

Kymber couldn't find it in her to make any noise. Both a gasp and a scream were frozen in her throat. She didn't even know where to follow her thoughts. She only stared unblinkingly into the dark mass, fearing that it might also be staring into her, but unable to tear her eyes from it.

It abruptly dropped her covers, and Kymber saw that the figure had hands clothed in black leather gloves.

It glided towards her, slowly at first, not moving it's hands. Then its menacing shadow crept up over the edge of Kymber's bed. It engulfed her.

That's when she could see its long, pale face beneath a black fedora, and that it also wore a black collared trenchcoat. It looked like a man, but it was a demon, no doubt. A demon with a Cheshire smile, and empty grey eyes that stayed fixed on hers.

The frozen gasp broke free, and Kymber was about to scream for her mother, but the figure swooped up and stretched out his hand so that it hovered just above her lips. She froze, held her breath, and silently panicked with wide eyes.

"Shh," he brought a gloved finger to his paper-thin lips.

Kymber scuttled back until her shoulder blades dug into the wall behind her bed.

"Now, now, sweetheart, settle down," he said slowly, in an alarmingly soft and placid tone. "You don't wanna wake up the family now, do you?"

His voice made him sound like he could be a southern gentleman from the Old South, but everything else about his manner was foreboding.

Kymber pulled her arms in tight as he crept closer.

"No," she whispered, eyes watering. "This isn't real. You're not real…"

"Oh, but I am…very real," he uttered, placing his hands gently over her shoulders.

Kymber cringed as she felt the sharp cold of the leather gloves. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away.

"You're just a vision. I forgot to take my medicine on time today, my mind created you…" she tried to assure herself in a confident voice. Even though a single tear rolled from each eye as she clamped her eyelids even tighter.

She tried to focus on her breathing, like the therapist taught her, but it was infinitely difficult.

She felt him lean closer, next to her ear.

"You can't think me away," he uttered in an eerie sing-song voice.

His breath was like winter. It sent a chill down Kymber's spine and she shuddered.

"No…", she said in a small and broken voice, as she pressed her head to the wall and desperately held back a sob.

"Come on now, sweetheart, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said.

He lifted one of his hands off Kymber's shoulder and brought it just under her jaw. "Look at me," he said, now with a tingle of annoyance in his voice, prying her face from the wall.

Something snapped in her for an instant. Kymber resisted, and tried to push the demon away.

"Get off!", she said as forcefully as she could.

He dug his gloved fingers into her face and forced it to face him, and in an instant, closed his other hand around her throat.

Kymber's eyes shot open and she found herself staring into the demon's ghostly face, which now bubbled with rage.

Kymber gagged and gasped for air. She could feel her windpipe being cut off, and clawed at his hands, but it was like trying to scrape away dried cement.

Her fingernails bent backwards when she tried to dig them into his arm, and she could no longer hold back the streams of tears that now flowed.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and Kymber's gagging turned into wheezing gasps.

"Don't make this little encounter harder than it has to be," he said through gritted teeth.

He loosened his grip on Kymber's throat after a few seconds. But only enough to keep her from fainting.

Kymber drew in as much air as she could. Her lungs throbbed and the cold air stung them, but her eyes returned to their normal places and her vision returned. Though she was somewhat thankful that her crying had blurred her eyesight some.

The demon waited until she was breathing normally -as normally as she could with his hand still half closed around her throat- before he spoke again.

His face became placid once more, and his cheshire-like smile returned.

"Now," he said, as he removed his hand from her jaw. "I wanted to thank you for kindly releasing me from that terrible prison." He caressed her cheek.

Kymber swallowed hard against the pressure of his hand. She tried to say something, but it came out as strained squeaking.

"What's that?" he said in a fluttery voice, putting a hand to his ear.

Kymber let out more squeaks, and weakly tugged on the sleeve of the hand at her throat.

"Oh, is that it? You don't want to be strangled? Is that what you're trying to tell me sweetheart?"

She squeaked some more, and mouthed the word 'please'.

"Okay, but as long as you're going to be real good for me sweetheart. Are we going to be good?" he said, the words slithering into Kymber's ear.

She nodded quickly, as best as she could.

He released her.

Kymber drew in a deep gasp and instinctualy covered her neck with both hands. She closed her eyes and kept her head down as she struggled to steady her breathing again.

The place on the bed in front of her sank slightly. The demon now sat, facing her.

Kymber noticed that the demon had a scent that was strange, but distinctly reminded her of the sensation of mist in crisp, chilly air. And darkness.

She opened her eyes and saw his dark figure through the hair that fell over her face, and the leather glove faintly reflecting the red light that surrounded them still. Kymber kept her head bowed.

"What's your name?" he said after a long silence.

Kymber's breaths grew shaky again, but she sniffled and answered him anyway, in fear of what he might do if she didn't.

"Kymber…" she said in a raspy, tear-choked voice.

"Well, there," he said in a light tone. "That wasn't so hard now was it, Kymber?"

Kymber didn't like the sound of her name dripping from his mouth.

He raised his hand to her. Kymber flinched, but he didn't seem to notice as he reached past her hair and lifted her face up towards him.

Kymber didn't protest this time, dropping her hands into her lap.

The demon pushed back her strawberry blonde hair and looked her over, tilting her face side to side, as if inspecting. His smile widened, baring his numerous, large teeth. They were perfectly straight too. The scary kind of perfect though. Kymber couldn't tear her eyes from them.

Without warning, a wave of tears spilled over her face once more, and her chest heaved in small, silent sobs.

He met his eyes with hers. The grey irises shone with a flash of fascination.

Kymber's mind was hazy, and she couldn't seem to find any thoughts that she could hold on to.

"Are you going to possess me?" Kymber choked out, surprising herself.

The demon opened his mouth wide, and let out a drawn out, wheezy chuckle, then inhaled sharply.

"Possess you? Hardly," he said. "I have bigger plans for you tonight."

He ran his free hand through her hair.

Kymber swallowed hard. She felt sickness rising in her throat as her stomach turned at the thought of what that could possibly mean.

"Are you…are…" she started, but the rest of the question froze on the tip of her tongue.

"Quite talkative now, aren't we?" the demon said with an ammused sort of grin. "Go on."

She couldn't hardly bring herself to say the rest, but she had to. She felt compelled to know.

"Are you an incubus?" she finally asked.

The corners of his mouth curled as he leaned in, and towered over her.

She saw herself reflected in his unmoving eyes. Regret filled every corner of her soul.

"Is that what you fear most?" he whispered. His chilly breath washed over her.

Is that what she feared most?

"N-no.." Kymber swallowed. "But-"

"Then no, I'm not." he cut her off.

The demon pushed her face away, abruptly stood up and walked over to the recorder box.

Kymber sat confused for only a moment, but quickly wiped her eyes and cradled where his hand had been. She hadn't noticed before, but it was so cold that it stung in the places where his fingers were, as hot blood rushed back into her cheeks.

She watched him, only a silhouette now in the red glow and the mist that still swirled in the room. He caressed the box, running his hands down the sides.

"Do you know what this is, girl?" he asked, lifting the recorder from the shelf and slowly turning back to face her.

Kymber stared into the black mass, where she knew the demon's eyes sat like stagnant swamp water.

"It's…it's a recorder…," she answered.

"Not just a recorder," he snapped, swooping closer.

Kymber flinched.

The mist swirled behind him like silent tornados.

"This," he continued in a calm voice, "This is a…very precious object."

Kymber could only stare at him for a moment. "…precious object?", she finally said.

"Yes," he said, taking slow steps towards her. "And now it has finally been returned to my posession…" He knelt down on one knee and sat the box in Kymber's lap.

The box was incredibly cold on her bare skin, but she didn't dare move. The demon's manner was unpredictable, after all. She settled for placing her hands on the sides of the box to distract herself.

Kymber looked down at the recorder, and then up at the demon. The more she thought about how motionless his face was, the more uneasy she became.

"You suffer from hallucinations, don't you Kymber?", the demon said.

"Yes," she said, glancing down at the box.

"And they're scary, aren't they Kymber?"

"Sometimes…"

"Sometimes? Well you take medicine every day to keep them away, don't you?"

"Y-yes, but-"

"They must haunt you in your nightmares then?", he said, his tone growing in intensity.

"They-"

"You must be afraid of those fabrications, just waiting for the day you slip and forget to take your keep-away remedy entirely?"

"I…" Kymber's eyes welled up and she drew in a quivering breath.

"Shh, shh, shh," the demon placed his hands on top of hers. "Listen…"

Kymber held her breath as she stared into his deathly pale face.

"Just answer this one question," he said.

The demon leaned in. "Do you fear them?" he asked, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Kymber let tears roll over her cheeks once more, and her breath shook as she inhaled shallowly. She closed her eyes.

"Yes." she answered.

"Music to my ears," the demon whispered.

"What if I told you that this…" he said, as he ran his hands up the side of the recorder and around the front to un-do the clasps. "…could take all your horrid nightmares away?"

The demon opened the lid, waiting only a moment before he sat beside Kymber on her bed and placed an arm around her.

Kymber tensed up and felt a harrowing flare in her chest. A mix of confusion and a smothered feeling.

The demon switched the dial to the 'on' position.

Kymber jumped. "No wait-!", she said, trying to push the box away.

But the demon held both her and the recorder in their places. The grip that the demon's arm had around her shoulders grew crushingly tight.

"I don't understand…," she said, sniffling. "What is this?"

The demon glided his hand over to the buttons on the recorder's face, and rested his index finger on the 'record' button.

"All you have to do," he whispered in her ear, "Is tell me what you fear."

"But I already told you-,"

"It must be recorded!" he hissed.

Kymber drew in a few unsteady breaths. "Okay," she said.

"Now," he said, the 'record' button sinking beneath his finger. "What do you fear?"

Kymber was close to hyperventilation, but she stared into the glow of the green light and composed herself. Though she hesitated.

"I'm waiting Kymber…tick-tock, tick-tock," the demon said impatiently into her ear.

Kymber swallowed.

"I…I have these terrible hallucinations when I don't take my medicine."

"What form do these hallucinations take, my dear?"

"They're…," Kymber looked up at the demon.

"They're darkness and shadows. I'll see them chasing me with their claws outstretched and their mouths wide open, with rows of fangs just ready to tear me to pieces. They hide under my bed and snatch at my feet, and they wait for me, for the day I forget to take the medicine that keeps them away." she said, taking in a wavering breath.

"Tell me what you fear most about them," the demon said, his mouth twisting into a sick smirk.

Kymber hesitated, unsure of what else she was comfortable saying about them.

"I'm…I"m just afraid that…,"

"Yes, go on…," he urged.

"…that one day, I'll see them, and they won't just be hallucinations. That they'll be waiting for me, and I won't be able to get rid of them by shutting my eyes…"

The demon pressed the 'pause' button. "Very good, sweetheart," he said.

There was a release of tension in Kymber's chest when the demon released her, closed up the recorder box, and strode to the other side of the room.

Maybe now that the demon had what he wanted, he'd leave, Kymber thought. She held her breath as she watched him though.

He faced her, with the recorder now be held under his arm.

"This has been a fun little meet-and-greet Kymber, dear," he said. "But I have other errands to run."

Kymber only stared up at him, unsure of how she should reply.

"I do look forward to seeing you again," he said, before she could get anything out.

"Again?" she blurted out, shooting up from her bed.

"Yes, sweetheart. I'll be back for you on the next full moon," the demon said, flashing a sort of amused smirk.

"But you have the box, and I-I gave you what you asked for, and-"

"Yes, yes you did," he said. "And now you owe me."

"Owe you…?," the words tumbled from Kymber's mouth in disbelief. She took a few daring steps towards him, unable to help herself.

"But-but I freed you from that," Kymber said, pointing to the box. "I thought-"

"You thought!" he cut her off. "Let me, enlighten you," he said, stepping closer to Kymber, so that he towered over her.

Kymber froze and only stared into his empty expression.

"When you freed me from this wonderful little box," he said. "I returned the favor by letting you keep your pathetic life." He gently caressed the side of her face with the back of his glove.

"And now," he continued. "I've done you a great favor by getting rid of those imaginary shadows of yours."

The demon leaned down, so close to Kymber's face that she could feel his icy breath on her tender lips.

"So yes," the demon said in a frighteningly soft voice. "You owe me." He smiled the most wicked smile.

Kymber's chest flared with anxiety, and she found herself unable to move.

"But for now," he said, as he abruptly straightened up, sauntered his way through the mist, and spun around to face her.

He thrust his hand out towards Kymber with curled fingers.

She flinched and began to back away as her eyes welled up yet again.

"Now it's time for you to sleep!" the demon said.

Kymber's consciousness left her, as if it were caught in a vacuum.

Darkness blanketed her.


End file.
